Slow roasting is my favorite way to prepare cauliflower, and this time of the year I prepare it often (using this recipe or something similar). Slow roasting means it will take longer (90 minutes to 2 hours), but the cauliflower will have much greater depth of flavor compared to roasting it quickly in a hotter oven. As I love to make homemade ravioli, it was only a matter of time before I’d try to stuff ravioli with slow-roasted cauliflower. I’ve posted about cauliflower ravioli before, braised with red wine and olives, or braised with white wine and lemon. Roasting the cauliflower instead gives the filling a deeper flavor and a texture with more bite to it. Here’s what I did…

Ingredients

Makes about 40 ravioli

1 cauliflower

3 eggs

200 grams (1 1/3 cup) Italian 00 flour

extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

salt

freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Break the cauliflower into florets. Arrange the florets in a large oven proof dish in a single layer. Season with salt, ground cumin, and chilli flakes. Drizzle olive oil on top, and toss to mix.

Roast for an hour, stirring halfway to ensure even cooking. Then add a minced garlic clove, stir, and roast for another half hour.

The cauliflower should be tender and browned but not burnt. Roast for a bit longer if needed.

Allow the cauliflower to cool somewhat, then put in the food processor together with two big handfuls of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and an egg.

Pulse until the mixture is coarsely ground. It is nicer with some texture rather than becoming a smooth puree. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, remembering that the filling of ravioli should always be seasoned slightly more than you think when you taste it by itself.

Cover and refrigerate the filling for at least an hour to allow it to firm up.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and when the water boils, cook the ravioli for 2 minutes. I served them simply with freshly grated parmigiano and a bit of very good extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top.

Wine pairing

This is nice with a light-bodied red that can handle spicy food such as a Bardolino, Zweigelt, or Mencía.

It is definitely worth the extra time, both flavor and texture are very different compared to 30 minutes at 225C/425F. The best way to find out though, is to give it a try yourself 🙂 We had slow-roasted cauliflower for dinner tonight (together with carnitas) that I roasted on Sunday as I would not want to wait for 2 hours to have dinner when I come home for work…

I’ve also not slow roasted cauliflower- only tomatoes and I know how well that works. It just never occurred to me. I love to come across something so simple, so new and so “duh”. I’m definitely going to try it. And broccoli too. I’ll have a go at it with sumac.
And I’ve gotten over my hesitation with things like squash or pumpkin in a ravioli- it’s quite good. I bet this cauliflower is too.
Thanks! wendy.

This is a great recipe, firstly thank you Stefan!
I was thrilled by the slow-roast idea and had to try it out instantly.
Long story short – the slow-roasting is super, it gives your cauliflower such an intense taste. I imagine the roasted cauliflower on its own would also be a tasty side dish.
One question remained though: what program did you set the oven to? I used heat from top and bottom, no fan. Does that match your settings?
Cheers!